Sunday, April 10, 2016

This baseball season, I plan to complete all AAA and AA parks, as well as those in the South Atlantic and Appalachian Leagues. This totals 30 stadiums and once done, will leave me with just 23 minor league ballparks in the Midwest, Northwest, and Pioneer Leagues to see in 2017.

The stadiums I have yet to see are scattered about the country in states that I have rarely visited, like New Mexico, Arkansas, and Mississippi, as well as more rural areas in Texas and the southeast. Rather than take a two-month roadtrip that would almost definitely lead to the end of my marriage, I'm splitting the trips up into more manageable chunks. The first of these is a short jaunt to the southwest to see a couple of far flung PCL teams, along with one in the Texas League. Travelling that far means that try to see at least two games in each venue, and with more and more minor league teams having school days (i.e. morning games), it can be done in just four days.

I'll start in Albuquerque for an Isotopes game before taking a left turn (thus avoiding the same mistake that Bugs Bunny always makes) and heading to Midland where the RockHounds play. The next day I'll see the RockHounds in the morning before heading back west and into the Mountain Time Zone to check out the newest AAA team, the El Paso Chihuahuas, who started play in 2014 after moving from Tucson. Then I hustle back to Albuquerque for a doubleheader starting with the Lobos before finishing up with a return visit to Isotopes Park. The full schedule is below: